Growing.

As reported by the doctor, Bean is 10 pounds, and 22 1/2 inches! SO BIG! She gained a pound and a half and grew an entire inch. My goodness. She'll be 10 weeks on Saturday. I can't believe it!

Vote!

Vote for Bean to be the next BabyGap model!

Dress Up.

I hadn't experienced with dressing Bean up, and today we did! It turned out so cute, and it inspired me to want to do it again. I didn't think about wanting her to dress up when I was pregnant. I know there are going to be those moments where I walk in a room and find her covered in my lipstick and wearing my high heels. Little girls, they break your heart, and she's already breaking mine. I told myself that I would never be that Mom that shared every milestone with every single person she knew, but I have become her. I'm the Mom that opens up her wallet and shows pictures of her babies at the grocery store, and really does think that her baby is the most beautiful. It's a trait I proudly choose to accept, and am not ashamed of. Haha.

Bean + Peanut = BFF.

As my lovely friend Taryn sung, "Bean gets a buddy, Bean gets a buddy!" That's right friend, in about 9 months, a lovely new friend will be joining our family. Our good friends Jared and Shanda are PREGNANT! Her and I got engaged about a month apart, got married 1 week apart, and are now having babies 10 months apart. I could not be more excited! They are going to be the best parents, and I can't wait!

Jared and Bean.

Soon to be Mommy Shanda and Bean.

She Works Hard for the Money.

I love moments like these. I wish we had more of them. I am excited/nervous about tomorrow. I go back to work tomorrow, and will be leaving Bean with Josh. Not that I am worried about Josh, or her, but it's rare that I am not around to take care of her ALL the time. I am only working for 2 hours a day, (thank God) which will give Josh and Bean some time to hang out. Hopefully he'll be able to get ready in time for work and do whatever he needs to do. I am hoping that work, school and taking care of her full time won't kill me. I know that I have said that before, but I really am worried! It will help, and like most moms going back to work, I wonder if it's the best thing. I can't second guess myself any more, it's time to buckle down and do it. If it doesn't work, I can always leave, right? The minimal money that I am making will help a little. Not that we need it, but it can't hurt.

Bean is growing like a weed! 9 weeks yesterday already. We have her 2 month check up on Wednesday and I will update then. That day should be challenging. She gets more shots, and we all know how she loves shots. Until then...

BabyGap.

I entered Bean into the Casting Call for the BabyGap ads. We were in the store today and the woman that was behind the counter looked into her stroller and asked me if I had entered her. I said I hadn't, and she practically forced me to. The contest ends tonight at midnight, and I haven't had time for anyone to vote for her, so I don't know what the outcome will be. How great would it be for Bean to be a Gap model? Yes please! You had to have a close-up face shot, so here is the picture that I entered:

It had to be a vertical photo, and I don't take a ton of those. I thought that it was a good choice though. Wish us luck!

Casa de Johnson.

We have begun our search for a home!

Our lease is up the end of December, but we are planning on paying where we currently live and at the new place. We want to do Christmas at our house, and be able to decorate. It sounds crazy, but I'm really excited. The place that we are crossing our fingers for is awesome. Almost 1400 sq. feet, tri-level and has a big huge patio in the back. The only problem with it is that the floors are kind of outdated (all of which I can fix myself, thank you Ikea) and that one bedroom is on the bottom level, and the other bedroom is at the top. It would make getting up to Bean more difficult, so I'm not sure what we're going to do. I'm thinking that she could sleep with us for a while until she is sleeping through the night. She sleeps wonderfully already though. We're busting out of the seams of our little apartment, and it's time to move on.

Birthdays.

Nap Time.

I wish so badly that I could sleep this deeply. She just looks so peaceful and far away. I feel like I sleep with one eye open. Ah, to be young again...

Punkin'.

Preview of our Halloween shoot. They came out pretty good!

Rightfully So.

She loves her Daddy.

Holidays.

I'm so ready for the holidays. A little too ready I think...

I have already started my countdown to Christmas. I got the idea to heavily prepare from this blog that I follow called Simple Mom, and wherein she created a 12 week countdown. It's pretty smart, and I think it's a great way to prepare for Christmas, especially now that I am married and we have a little one to share with the family. The 12 Weeks Until Christmas post provides week by week help to countdown your biggest holiday tasks. I find it helpful, maybe you will too!

We have already put our Halloween decorations up, (we're waiting to carve pumpkins because it's still hot) and made Halloween cookies today. I love this time of year, and the next few months it only gets better! How funny are these costumes? I'm considering some of them! No pumpkin for my little girl's 1st Halloween!

I keep seeing some that make me laugh so hard! I can't imagine how parents do this to their kids, it's so funny! I wish I had a sewing machine, I was actually going to make Bean into a bean for Halloween! She'll have to settle for something else, but still great!

Tick Tock.

I wish that there were more time in our days. Lately, time has been on my mind. My husband Josh works so hard for us so that I can stay home with her during the day. I appreciate him so much, because he really does work hard. 7 days a week, no break. This also means that he doesn't get to see Bean as much as he would like to. There isn't really anything that he can give up, so it sticks me between a rock and a hard place. I know that having children bring on much sacrifice, but I'm having trouble with this one.

Zzz.

Bedtime has been going better. I have been putting her in her crib when she shows signs of being sleepy, so she can kind of put herself to sleep. I turn on her nightlight and her music, and she's out. We have a routine now, bath, eat, watch Conan with Mommy and Daddy, and then night night. I am trying to limit her naps to one in the morning and one if the afternoon. Usually when she sleeps all day, which is rare, she doesn't sleep at night. But all in all, we're doing better with it. Hooray!

Lead and Follow...

Hello!

If you read my blog, you should follow me.

I would just like to know who is reading and who isn't!

Uh Oh.

After another late night, I felt compelled to write this.

I don't think Bean likes falling asleep by herself. She LOVES being held, and for a while there, I would hold her all the time. She would take naps on my chest, I would carry her around while I did things around the house, etc. Now it's staring to get to the point where she will fall asleep in my arms, or most often while nursing. I will think everything is go for bedtime, put her down in bed, and she'll wake up and start to cry. I let her cry hoping that she will go back to bed, and she doesn't. I pick her up, let her fall back asleep and then put her down again, the same thing happens. We do this a few times a night, but eventually she falls asleep. How should I go about fixing this problem? I have being reading some advice online and here are a few things I found.

From a mom's point of view:

pinkymckay's blog

The debate between letting babies "cry it out" or not:

mommies.com

My problem is, I never know when to say when. It's hard to distinguish whether or not the cry is going to end. I let her cry, don't get me wrong. I am not the parent that rushes in when their baby makes a little peep. I am torn...how do I fix this?

Sharing.

 She's just learned how to smile long enough I can almost capture it on film. I'm obsessed with it, between the dimples and the giggle that comes out of her tiny little mouth, I can't get enough.

Life lately has been busy for us Johnsons, lots of appointments and errands to run. I find myself wondering for the first time since she has been born where all the time went. I feel like I have 100 thousand things to do, and my to do list never seems to get smaller. I wish I could be the woman that could let the dishes sit in the sink just a little longer, or be able to let the tv gather a little more dust. I am not that woman, nor will I be any time in the near future. It's my downfall.

Sharing responsibilities is also a bit tough. It's hard to decide who does what, when one doesn't work away from home all day. It's a routine that I am getting used to, and love, but it's about to change, again. I signed up for school online through Josh's work (University of Phoenix) and am hoping that working 3 hours a day in the mornings, taking classes and taking care of Bean full time isn't going to just kill me. I give myself some props, I manage to get a decent amount of sleep each night and accomplish things during the day, so I am capable, just wondering if it's bad time management. Taking too many things on runs in this family. My husband has practically 3 jobs. He works 45+ hours a week and U of Phx, leads worship at New Life Community Church every weekend, and then has a venue that he runs twice a month that also meets every Thursday. He's rarely home for long enough, and I don't want both of us to end up like that. Sacrifice, right? Crossing my fingers it's not too much.

Win!

Fuzzibunz Cloth Diapers is having ANOTHER free giveaway. All you have to do is become a friend of theirs on Facebook, and go down to the post where it explains the contest rules. All you have to do is list 3 reasons why you love using Fuzzibunz, or 3 reasons why you would like to. They are choosing the winner October 12th, and the winner receives a lifetime supply of cloth diapers!

Fuzzibunz Facebook page!

Good luck!

Latest.

She is already 8 lbs. 6 oz. and grew another half inch. I cannot believe it's already been almost 6 weeks. Everyday she is doing something new, and seems to be growing right before my eyes. She smiled for the very first time at me the other day, and I almost lost it. It brings a joy to my heart that little else does. We have yet to capture it in a photograph, but soon enough. I get so scared to move, afraid that she will stop. The joy just keeps coming and coming, and I'm thankful every day.